Grave Markers
by Peeta Melark
Summary: Leo Valdez returns to Camp Half-Blood twenty years after the events of "Blood of Olympus," looking for his friends. The camp has changed since he last saw it, and not everything has changed for the better.


Leo Valdez never saw his friends again. For a while—four years or so—he had entertained the idea of going back to Camp Half-Blood to surprise them. But then he'd wondered if there even _was_ a Camp Half-Blood anymore, or if the Romans had torn it apart. Besides, he had to introduce Calypso to the world, and that on its own was a huge task. He couldn't just leave her alone in the contemporary world with a few bucks and say, _Sorry, babe. Why don't you get a cab and come find me?_ No. He had to be there for her. He _wanted_ to be there for her… _with_ her as she discovered the world again. Then he would find his friends. He was sure Piper would love Calypso, and maybe even Annabeth would, too. He hoped he could make them all see what he saw: a beautiful girl who had spent far too long alone.

Twenty years after the battle, he returned home. At first, the sight made him smile. Lou Ellen was outside the Hecate cabin, braiding flowers into Connor Stoll's hair while Katie Gardner made a flower crown for Travis. Clarisse, now thirty-nine years old, was playing guitar with a young satyr man. Leo assumed that was Coach Hedge's son. Clarisse had grown since Leo had last seen her, and she was beautiful. Her hair was cut short, held back with a headband, and her face had taken on a note of kindness that suited her well. But the kindness seemed like the kindness born from heartache, and that worried Leo. Nearby, Thalia Grace and a few of her Hunters were playing volleyball, unchanged, though Thalia had a scar running across her cheek. Leo approached her slowly, calling out her name.

"Leo?" she gasped. "Leo Valdez? Oh my gods, you've changed!"

"You haven't," Leo said. He had meant it to be funny, but Thalia didn't laugh.

"Immortality…" she mused. "Sometimes I wonder if it is too heavy a burden for me to carry."

She sounded so sad that Leo wondered what could have happened to her through the years. Surely, in his absence, many of her Hunters, maybe even many campers had died.

"I'm sorry," he said. "How have you been?"

Thalia sighed. "Not well, if I'm going to be completely honest. Of course, none of us have been particularly well for, oh, ten years." She stared off into the distance.

"What happened ten years ago?" Leo asked. He felt stupid, but what else could he do? Thalia looked shocked.

"You mean no one's told you?"

"I just got back…"

"Come with me." Thalia started towards the woods. Leo, not knowing what else to do, followed her. They traveled steadily down a stone path leading into a little clearing filled with stones. As he moved closer, Leo saw them for what they really were: grave markers. Each one had its own inscription, and each inscription was more painful to read than the last. All of them seemed roughly ten years old.

_Percy Jackson, age 27. Brave warrior, loving son, and adoring fiancé. No one could have asked for a better friend._

_Annabeth Chase, age 27. Fearless until the very end. She made us all want to be better than we ever thought possible. She is in an inspiration to all. _

_Piper McLean, age 26. If you're out there, Piper, know that we love you. _

_Jason Grace, age 27. Even the strongest eagle can be shot down. It was not your time to go, but everyone must say goodbye. _

_Nico di Angelo, age 23. The oddest ray of sunshine to ever light the world. Your light shone through anything, especially when all other lights were swallowed by darkness. _

_Frank Zhang, age 25. We will all miss you. If you are listening, know that you burned bright until the end. Ave, Praetor Zhang. _

_Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, age 28. Your life went out, but your spirit lives on. Ave, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano. _

_Hazel Levesque, age 22. A gem glittering in the dull, dry earth. There has been too much heartbreak, and now we've lost you. _

_Will Solace, age 29. The sun will never shine as bright, since its favorite son is gone. _

A cry fell from Leo's lips and he fell to his knees, grasping at the grass in front of the tombstones. Tears stung his eyes, hot and relentless. His face burned. How could he have missed this? How could he have let his friends die without him, without knowing he was still alive? What if they'd died _because_ he wasn't there? It was an egotistical thought, but he knew he would lose his will to live if even _one_ of his friends died.

"You see?" Thalia wasn't crying, but she was kneeling in front of the graves, her head bowed. "None of us have been well."

Leo sobbed again, a deep, pain-filled sound. "How are you coping?"

"We're not," Thalia said. "You see Will? He lasted _four _years before he finally couldn't take it anymore. He threw himself into battle and he didn't make it out. We lost our best healer that day… Or maybe we'd lost him before… when Nico, um, passed away."

Leo frowned. "Nico?"

Thalia almost laughed. "Of course. You don't know. Nico and Will were… close… They were together for ten years—married for two—before…"

Leo looked up and saw that the daughter of Zeus was crying silently, her fingers brushing against the name on Annabeth's tombstone.

"She used to come talk to me every day, when I was a tree. For a while, I didn't remember any of it, but it started coming back to me in dreams after she died. She would sit and talk to me… about everything. She told me all about her progress, the camp, Luke…" She sighed. "She told me about how annoying Percy was… and then I woke up, I guess. I've spent all these years trying to be strong like she was, but…"

"You miss her?" Leo guessed. Thalia sobbed.

"Oh gods, I miss her! And I've been trying not to think about it, but lately it's all that's on my mind! You haven't been here, Leo. You haven't seen what I've seen. All this pain…" She hugged herself, tears dripping down her cheeks. She looked so small, fifteen for the rest of eternity.

"You're right," Leo said. "I left you guys alone, and I'm sorry. I should have come back sooner, but I had no idea how to tell you I was okay."

Thalia looked like she wanted to punch him. "You could have just told us. They lost something when they lost you. It was _unbelievable_ the pain they went through."

"What about you?" Leo asked. "You never liked me."

"I liked you as much as I like any stranger," Thalia said. "I was indifferent. But seeing my friends torn apart like that… Yeah. I'm not your biggest fan. But Annabeth liked you well enough, so I'm willing to give you a chance."

A wave of gratitude and relief washed through Leo. "You really liked Annabeth, huh? She was awesome."

"The best," Thalia agreed. "I'll never have another friend like her. She never gave up on me, and I wish I didn't have to give up on her."

Leo touched the name on Hazel's tombstone, thinking back on the thirteen-year-old girl she had been when he last saw her. And Piper… only sixteen when he'd "died."

"I just wish I'd seen them," he murmured. "The people they grew up to be… They must have been amazing."

Thalia smiled a little. "There are pictures in the Big House. They were wonderful. Want to see?"

Leo nodded and Thalia led him back to the Big House. They sat together for hours, looking through photos of their friends. The photos were painful, but Leo felt a swell of pride as he took in every new one, memorizing each detail. One photo was of Percy and Annabeth, holding hands as they stared into the campfire. Another was of Nico di Angelo, leaning on Will Solace's shoulder. The next was of Will Solace tugging on Nico's ears. The son of Hades did _not_ look happy about that. There was a photo of Frank giving Hazel a piggyback ride. Hazel's face was lit up in a grin and Frank was laughing, perfectly content and happy. Leo felt a tear slide down his cheek. Hazel was older in this picture, maybe fifteen or sixteen, and Frank looked like he might have been starting college. The next picture was of Piper and Annabeth, with an unsuspecting Jason walking right into a perfectly planned prank. They, too, were laughing. There was a picture of Percy and Annabeth on their wedding night, and another of Nico and Reyna dancing at the reception. There were pictures of Frank and Hazel's engagement party, Piper and Jason's wedding. Reyna was the maid of honor at Annabeth's wedding, and a bridesmaid in both Hazel and Piper's weddings. She was best man for Nico, and Thalia showed her the recording of her speech.

"You're too young to be getting married, Nico," the daughter of Bellona had said. "But maybe I just think that because no sister wants to see her little brother married before her!"

In the video, Nico had tears running down his cheeks, but he was smiling like he'd never been so happy in his life. Leo had never seen him look like that, and he was sorry he had missed it.

There were countless photographs of Nico holding Reyna's daughter, whose name was Bianca, and some of Percy and Jason fussing over some cat they'd found wandering outside the magical boundaries. Percy looked incredibly pleased with himself and Jason looked like he might die of excitement.

"Jason loved that cat," Thalia said. "Percy, too."

"Wow," was all Leo could say. Thalia pulled out the last few photos. The first was the group of demigods in their armor, ready for the coming battle. The couples were all holding hands, like they knew it might be the last time they ever did. The photo after that was of Clarisse, hugging a ten-year-old Chuck as he cried over Nico and Reyna's graves. The next photo was of Will, smiling a forced smile as he stood in the doorway of the infirmary. He looked exhausted, and most of the color had drained from his face. If Leo hadn't known better, he would have thought it was a photo of Octavian. The last photo was of Thalia and her Hunters paying their respects to the dead. Will Solace's grave looked fresh and new.

"I can't believe they're gone," Leo said when the photos were back in their box. "It feels like we won the battle just yesterday."

Thalia gave another one of her sad smiles. "You'll get used to it," she told him. "Soon, you'll be gone, too. Sometimes… I wonder if I should have taken immortality."

"It's that heavy a burden?"

"Not when I didn't realize my friends would all die, but now… Yeah. It's a heavy burden. Stay alive, Leo. I'd hate to see you go too early, too."

She stood to go, leaving the door open behind her. Leo sat for a while longer, though, staring at the box of photos on the table. He rolled a thought over in his head: that he would never see any of his friends again, and eventually those photos would fade. He entertained the thought that he might be able to make it to Elysium, and maybe he would see his friends there, but would they wait for him, or would they choose rebirth?

"Wait for me, guys," he said to the air. "I'm almost forty. I'll be joining you in a few more decades, I guess."

Somehow, that thought comforted him. He would spend the next few decades without his friends, but he would have them waiting for him in Elysium. Besides, he had the girl of his dreams to keep him company until then. Calypso. They were getting married in a month, and they would have the rest of their lives together. Maybe they would name their children after Leo's friends, to keep their memories alive. Leo knew then that he would never truly be on his own. Thalia Grace, however, would have to spend at least the next few centuries alone.

**A/N: I just felt like writing something sad today. Enjoy! **


End file.
